Any Regions Accepting Credit Cards or EFT?

[parrts]

I'm Membership Chairman for the Naples-Marco Region.  We've had some requests for members to pay dues and to pay for event registration fees other than by check or cash.  Are any Regions set-up to accept Credit Cards and/or EFT's?  Please let us know how it's done and how successful it's been.  Personally, I'm looking for less work collecting dues, not more.  Any advice.  Please let me know either by PM or posting.  Thanks for any help.

Regards,

Henry Feinberg

Ft. Myers, FL

[John_S_in_Penna]

Our region is one of the largest AACA regions and

accepts only cash or check.  We're just volunteers,

not a business, and everyone seems fine with this

arrangement.

 

People can mail in a check;  or at one event during

renewal time, we set up a table and people can

line up and pay dues by check or cash.  We give them

their new yearly membership card in person as a receipt.

[parrts]

Thanks, John. That's pretty much the way we do it, too.

Only about 1/3 of our members are year-round residents of SW FL, so we have some unusual demographics as far as number and age of "volunteers".  We may be old but we're driving cars older than we are, year round and having fun, too. 😎

[Spinneyhill]

In NZ, cheques are rare now. We haven't written one for at least three years. If you want to pay the fee, accept credit cards. As far as I am aware, there is no fee on EFTPOS. There are also no fees on my bank account so it costs me nothing to do payments by internet banking - this particular account pays no interest and is just our running account.  Is a cheque safer than a credit card or an EFTPOS card? Your choice. But internet banking seems to be pretty safe here. I have never had anything go wrong, but I have had my card details stolen on the internet - I must have been clumsy one time.

 

I am a member of two clubs. In the past, the standard way for clubs to run was by cheque and receipt. But cheques are gone and few want a receipt now. So we have gone to internet banking in both clubs with dual signatories to make payments, i.e. one person sets it up, another logs in - probably from their home - and approves the payment, which then is confirmed for payment. This required changes in the constitutions of both clubs. Cheques and cash are still acceptable but rare. Not many people here carry much money these days.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Spinneyhill (see edit history)

[parrts]

Sounds like NZ is ahead of us in making checks obsolete. Thanks for your help.

BTW We loved seeing many pre-WWII cars on the Sunny North Island, especially around Napier.

[Spinneyhill]

23 hours ago, parrts said:

Sounds like NZ is ahead of us in making checks obsolete. Thanks for your help.

BTW We loved seeing many pre-WWII cars on the Sunny North Island, especially around Napier.

Were you there in February? Art Deco week is the time. The Vintage Car Club run a rally at the same time and there is a parade through the city of c. 200 cars I believe. That is pretty good for this little place.

 

https://www.hawkesbaynz.com/see-and-do/art-design-and-culture/the-art-deco-guide/napier-art-deco-festival-2019/

[stvaughn]

National takes credit cards. Check with them to see how they do it. 

[parrts]

OK we know that it’s doable and now how to do it. Thank you for your help on that. Question remaining is, are any AACA US Regions or Chapters that are accepting credit cards and/or electronic funds transfers (EFT)? I would like to make direct contact with them. 

Thank you again.

Regards,

Henry

 

[ted sweet]

18 hours ago, stvaughn said:

National takes credit cards. Check with them to see how they do it. 

only for dues and merchandise

[Frank DuVal]

What else do they sell?

[parrts]

Meet and tour registrations?

[charlier]

Regardless of the size of a region or how payments have been done in the past, sooner or later regions will have do deal with this payments situation.

Regions and National are constantly concerned about recruiting new (younger) members. Problem is more and more younger people are using smartphones and computers to do their banking (on-line bill payment) or using payment services like PayPal or credit cards. So at some point potential younger members may say to heck with joining the club if they will not accept payment using the form of payment they utilize. One has to wonder right now how many potential younger members have not joined the club because of this? As current members of AACA make changes to their personal financial lives going forward, Regions will be getting more requests for payment alternates to cash/checks from current members. The regions that move with the times when it comes to more modern payment options will be able to retain these members and recruit new ones. The regions that ignore these requests and continue to demand payments using traditional forms of payment may face challenges ahead.

 

Personally, I have been using on-line banking for bill payment for the last 10-15 + years now. Yes, I still have a checking account (for now) which I use mainly for Charitable Donations. Heck my church even accepts EFTs for weekly donations and they have been doing that for the last 5-10 years now.

I also use my credit card to pay for the judges breakfast when I do AACA Judging. I would also be more than willing to pay for meet registration this way as well if it was an option even if I had to pay a little extra for this ability.

 

Parrts, I suggest you contact Steve Moskowitz at AACA National regarding questions about using EFTs and Credit Cards for Meet and Tour Registrations.

[Spinneyhill]

The best way to find out about it might be to talk to your bank! They have systems and processes already set up for clubs and can take you through it. That is what happened with my clubs.

[parrts]

Thank you all. We understand how to accept payments.

 

I would still like to know if any Regions are accepting credit cards and/or online payments?

 

Maybe the Naples-Marco Region will be the first.

 

Henry Feinberg

Ft. Myers, FL

[CarFreak]

Not AACA but our Region of the CLC accepts Paypal for dues and event registrations.   Very simple to set up and use.  There are fees charged by Paypal but the group decided having the ability to pay online was worth the nominal expense. You can set up a Paypal button on your website or payments can be sent directly when accessing the PP website and entering the email address.  A spot for notes/comments allows the sender to indicate the payment purpose. 

 

The CLC Museum also uses Square to process credit card transactions for online purchases, donations and event purchases.  Again, once set up, simple to use with nominal fees.  Great way to receive payments from people.  As discussed above, many people don't use paper checks, may not have them at the time and/or want to make a contribution or purchase and this offers a convenient credit card option.

 

Both offer an electronic 'paper trail' to verify the transaction was completed and reports can be processed as needed.  Great alternative to cash.  In our Region we have had instances where the Treasurer ends up with cash that he doesn't remember who gave it to him or why.  (despite numerous suggestions that he use a cash receipts book)

Edited January 15, 2019 by CarFreak (see edit history)